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Date: November 27, 2009

Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Weather: Clear and cool

Trail(s) Hiked: Oak Canyon

Trail Condition: Dry

Difficulty: Easy

People Factor: More than expected; thought they’d all be shopping today

Distance Hiked: 1-2 miles

Fall arrives in San Diego somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas and, once it gets here, it lasts about three days. This was one of those three days. The sun has lost its intensity, a few white clouds patterned the sky, and the tree leaves were golden.

Daylight savings is in effect, so its only light until around 5 pm, at which time the park officials lock the gate. Being that I arrived at 3:30, I had to scurry to cover some ground.

I was surprised to see a lot of people there today, and there were more than the usual number of amateur hikers and trekers. The screaming baby factor was, no doubt, why I failed to see much wildlife. I’m still hoping to again see the coyotes and/or the tarantula I saw a month or so ago.

I hiked the Oak Canyon Trail to the end of the rocky segment, which is about a mile out. Turned back before the clock struck five and my car turned into a pumpkin.

I LOVE MY KIDS….! Two weeks ago we ventured out to the beach after church… YES THE BEACH!! My KIDS FAVORITE spot of all places, one day I will live by the OCEAN, because it is my favorite place TOO! Now my MENTOR will shoot me for putting these on my BLOG, why, because they are not very good images… why because it was almost dark, so I blew them out and like I said they aren’t very good, BUT I LOVE THEM anyways!!! & that is why I’m blogging them. These are my kids TRUE nature… LOVING, LAUGHING, ENJOYING EACH OTHER AND GOD’S BEAUTY! No matter what obstacles, challenges, hardships you are facing… look into the eyes of someone you love and who loves you back, this is my weekend wish for you!!!

San Diego has an amazing number of craft breweries — about 30 — and yet it does relatively little to promote its ascendency to legitimate beer destination. Well in November, that changed with the launch of San Diego Beer Week. Spotlighting venerable breweries like Karl Strauss as well as newcomers to the craft brewing business, the event stretched longer than a week (despite the name) and featured delectable food and beer pairings. I was fortunate enough to attend three of the events and file stories about them:

BEER WEEK: Chefs Reveal Kitchen Secrets

BEER WEEK: Remember Your First Fling?

BEER WEEK: Karl Strauss Turns 20

For adventurous home cooks, this recipe didn’t make it into my sandiego.com report:

Barleywine Ice Cream.

Yield: ½ gallon

12 ounces barleywine

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup whole milk

2 ounces orange-flavored liqueur

1 egg plus 2 egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup crème fraîche

Mix the barleywine, sugar, milk , liqueur, egg and yolks together in the top of a double-boiler over medium heat. Whisk until smooth. Simmer the mixture, whisking constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and let cool. Mix in the cream and crème fraîche and strain. Chill the mixture. Process the cooled mixture in an ice cream machine (following the manufacturer’s instructions). Place churned ice cream in freezer to set.

SOURCE: Amy DiBiase of Roseville

CRITICAL MASS
San Diego. Fall 09

After spending 3 wonderful days in Santa Barbara for my brother’s wedding, Adam and I decided to extend our trip a bit and spend some time in San Diego. I’d been to San Diego before, but Adam never had – so we were looking forward to exploring it together.

Off to San Diego..

Day 4: Santa Barbara to San Diego

This was a pretty relaxing day, though a lot of it was dedicated to travel. We woke up fairly late and said goodbye to many of the fellow wedding attendees who were leaving that day. Packing up our stuff was a bigger ordeal than we’d expected, but we managed to be packed and ready to go well before noon so that we could enjoy a relaxing brunch with Dan, Liana, and my mom. A few of Liana’s friends joined in as well, and Art and his son John stopped by for some of it as well. We found our way to a lovely little place- Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro. It was one of those places were everything is just amazingly good – even if it seems simple. I got a grilled cheese sandwich with a salad, but the cheese was to die for and the sourdough bread just perfect. MmmMm, a great way to say goodbye to Santa Barbara.

Then we headed for the train station where we said our final goodbyes to my family. Our time in Santa Barbara was really great visit with everyone, but we were happy to be spending a few bonus days on our own. We’d booked an Amtrak trip which would take us right into downtown San Diego for about $30 per person – much less than it would’ve cost us had we taken my mom’s rental car and tried to park at our hotel. In all, the trip went well – though it was pretty long. We didn’t get into San Diego until about 8pm, and at that point we were hungry and eager to get to our hotel.

Unfortunately this is where we hit the one big hiccup of our trip: Amtrak lost our luggage. It’s true – you don’t usually check baggage with Amtrak, but lucky for us, this was one of the rare trains that did require checking large baggage. We checked both of our bags, and somehow only one came off of the train in San Diego. The Amtrak employee’s comment “Well that’s bizarre” wasn’t exactly reassuring either. Hmm. At least he did almost immediately hand us $100 cash to pay for our toiletries, etc while we waited for our luggage to arrive. He was pretty sure it would arrive that night by the last train arriving around 3am, so we weren’t too worried. Of course, Adam’s $$$ tux was in that suitcase, along with my bridesmaid dress – so while it was good that this happened after the wedding – it was still a bit nerve wracking to have such expensive items in a missing suitcase.

We made our way to our hotel by cab, and only paid about $5 to get there. We were staying at the Ivy Hotel, a lovely boutique hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter (a main downtown hub of San Diego). A fancier place than we usually stay, but we felt like a splurge – and we got a fantastic deal. Staying at fancy hotels is really a great thing to do when you get the deal – you notice the difference in service levels right away. The front desk was super helpful with our lost luggage issue – and had a nice supply of “emergency” supplies available – including (nice) toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deodorant. The other perk of nice hotels? The soaps/shampoos/lotions you find in the room are actually worth using! More on our hotel over on my mom’s blog.

Anyway – we got settled and made our way out to find dinner. We ended up at a decent but fairly forgettable sushi place a few blocks from our hotel before calling it a night.

Day 5: San Diego Zoo and Old Town

Our main plan for this day (our only *full* day in San Diego) was to hit the zoo. We’d hoped to get our luggage that morning, but no luck. We found our way to The Broken Yolk, a breakfast place within a few blocks of our hotel that got fairly high reviews on my iPhone app Urban Spoon. Again, a pretty eh experience here. Adam got Eggs Florentine, which makes sense for a place that is clearly focusing on eggs. It was quite yummy. My Belgian waffle, however, left much to be desired. I’ve never ordered Belgian waffles and been disappointed before, but I guess there’s a first for everything. It kind of tasted like an Egg-o,  and came solo on a plate. No sides, no fancy show – just one waffle plopped onto the middle of a plate. It would’ve been ok had it tasted like something special, but again, very Egg-o. The food wasn’t the memorable part, however – the service was. It was pretty abysmal. Not once were we offered more coffee, and not once were we checked on once our food was plopped in front of us. Luckily the kind of crappy breakfast experience was saved by the fact that we got a call during breakfast that our luggage had been found. Yay! It had headed north, but was now on it’s way and would be to our hotel by 3-ish.

After breakfast we made our way to the zoo. It was about 3 miles away, and rather than take public transit we decided that walking there would be a nice way to see a bit more of San Diego. It wasn’t the most exciting walk, unfortunately – but once we got into Balboa Park it became clear why everyone talks about it so much. So much is there! Tons of museums, gardens, art shops, and general pretty scenery and trails. We mentally marked off a number of things to see on the way back, and went on to the zoo.

Hug Me!

And what a zoo it is. We did a bit of a whirlwind tour of it, but saw everything we’d wanted to. Well, everything but the polar bears which were out of their exhibit for some reason. I like to think they were off frolicking and drinking coke, but  somehow I doubt it. My favourite part? The koalas. I just want to cuddle all of them! We also got a great view of the elephants, including some time with the zookeepers washing them.

I was surprised that we got through it in about 3 hours, but we did skip one section and kept a good pace. I guess going to the zoo without little ones really does help you get through quickly! If we’d had a bit of extra time I would’ve loved to go to the Wild Animal Park as well, but we didn’t really want to spend the extra money for such a short trip. Gotta save something for the next time we’re in San Diego, right?

After leaving the zoo, we decided to check out some of the other fun things in Balboa Park, including a really great little village of art shops. I was very tempted by many of the pieces of jewelry, but didn’t quite commit. Then we headed to a botanical garden that was beautiful both inside and out. We slowly made our way out of Balboa Park, and headed east towards the water.

We were briefly distracted by San Diego’s Little Italy, and while we didn’t spend much time there, we did get a chance to pop into a Yorgurtland. Brilliant concept yogurt chain that has popped up all over California – it’s all self serve, and then you pay by weight. You can load up on as much (or as little) of any type of yogurt you could possibly want, along with a variety of toppings. Mmmm!

Once we loaded up on yogurt, off to the harbour we went. It was nice to hang out near the water again, which we hadn’t really done since the first day back in Santa Barbara. It’s a nice harbour – though we mostly just walked along the water and looked at the various touristy boat tours that were offered. There’s also a nice cruise port here, and we got to get a glimpse of a Royal Caribbean and Carnival ship in port. Then began the slowish walk back to our hotel. Including the 3 or so hours walking around the zoo, we think we may have walked about 10 miles that day. Whew.

After a brief rest at our hotel (when we were reunited with our luggage – YAY!), we made a the trip out to Old Town – this time via public transit. While San Diego has a handy trolley system, we took the bus – as there was a stop a mere block from our hotel, and it took us straight to old town, for less than $5/per person round trip.  Old Town is, well, the old part of San Diego. It’s clearly  now mostly a tourist area – with most of the shops geared entirely towards tourists with their trinkets and general ‘what can we  convince you to buy’ crap. I almost wrote off most of it, but then we poked into one series of shops and were intrigued. Sure, there was a lot of pure crap, but there was a number of nice shops with interesting art. We ended up buying one thing – a lovely wooden bowl painted with sunflowers.

Now for what brought us to Old Town in the first place: Old Town Mexican Cafe. A super super touristy place (the hostesses had to wear those bright mexican skirts and frilly tops), but it had been voted best mexican by a local poll, so we figured it had to be good. We were almost immediately greeted by two mariachi singers with guitars, who proceeded to serenade us with La Bamba:

Yo no soy marinero...

And the food? The food was good! Definitely worth the fun touristy silliness. After a lateish dinner we made our way back to the hotel to rest up for our last day in San Diego…

Day 6: Ocean Beach

This was our last day in San Diego, and with a redeye flight leaving at 9pm, we wanted to make the most of our day. We packed up and checked out of our hotel early, left our luggage with the front desk, and out we went. We headed to the Ocean Beach area – getting day passes this time, which you can get on the bus for only $5 per person, so so long as you ride at least twice, it’s paid for. We made our way to Ocean Beach and first stumbled upon Dog Beach. We wondered the area – first through a mostly residential area as we ventured towards the main shopping street of the area, Newport Street. A very funky area that clearly catered towards a surfer crowd, but also featured a lot of old fashioned storefronts and mom-and-pop style independent joints. Definitely a fun area to hang out in.

The inside of Hodad's

For lunch we sought out Hodad’s – a place Adam had read about as being the best burger place in the area. Yummy – certainly a place worth checking out! An adorable dive-y place, decorated mostly with old license plates from edge to edge along their walls. Pretty awesome. And according to Adam, the beef burgers were awesome – and I can definitely testify that they had a awesome veggie burger as well. And the fries were *awesome* – wedges, really – but spiced really really well.

After we’d thoroughly wondered Ocean Beach, we slowly made our way back to Gaslamp. We stopped in Old Town once again just for the sake of a bus transfer, and wondered it again to see it in the daylight.

Once back in the Gaslamp area, we had a bit of time to kill so we ended up spending a bit of time at the big mall near our hotel – Horton Plaza.  A nice outdoor-ish mall.

Then dinner – we found a nice pizza place this time: Sammy’s. It did have a larger menu, but they specialized in wood fired pizza. A nice meal to end a really lovely trip.

This post is from guest blogger Cari Miller, Alison’s daughter.

In a recent trip to San Diego, my husband and I were thrilled to stay in the lovely Ivy Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. A 4 1/2 star hotel isn’t the norm for us, but we splurged a bit, and also got a fantastic deal. A lovely little boutique hotel right in the heart of everything in San Diego, this hotel really lived up to it’s star rating.

The first thing we were pleased by with this overall cozy feel of he lobby. It’s not a big lobby by any means, but it was warm and inviting – not at all stuffy and snobby, like you sometimes find with ritzy hotels. There was a nice looking restaurant and bar attached, though we never made our way in.

The next good sign of a nice hotel is the service at the front desk. We were unlucky enough to have our main piece of luggage -which included all of our toiletries- get lost on our way in to San Diego. Not only were the front desk staff helpful in directing us to the nearest drug store, but they also supplied us with some necessities, including a nice toothbrush (not the tiny ones you sometimes get), toothpaste, and deodorant. Not too bad.

We made our way up to the room and were just as pleased with our room. It was a bit small, but very very comfortable and well appointed. Nice linens and a comfortable bed, a nice flatscreen TV, and a fancy minibar (though we didn’t dare taste the $8 cashews). One thing I especially liked with this minibar was the addition of a Keurig coffee maker – they brew one cup at a time from a pod. This was complementary, of course.

A few photos of our room:

A cozy bed.

Flatscreen TV and desk area.

No hotel room is complete without a minibar.

And the one slightly odd feature of the room was that one wall of the bathroom was completely transparent glass. So no modesty allowed in this room!

A nice clear view into the bathroom.

The hotel had a number of other nice features that we didn’t make much use of due to our short stay, but we did at least get a peak at the rooftop patio, which was quite nice. I can definitely see hanging out up there with friends and a glass of wine! The other thing this hotel features, which we didn’t even venture into, is the Envy. A nightclub/wine bar/lounge that apparently can get quite rowdy on the weekends.

Frankly, we were a bit nervous when we made the booking as their marks on TripAdvosor.com are not exactly glowing. The reviews all seemed to be glowing or just scathing, with very little in between. What we seem to have learned is that this may  be a hotel to avoid over peak weekend days (Thursday, Friday, Sasturday) unless you’re a young partier who wants to be clubbing until 2 or 3am. But if you’re there during the week, it’s a really lovely hotel that we’d gladly stay in again.

Read more about Cari’s trip to San Diego in her blog, here.

Denver’s Josh McDaniels is quickly turning into biggest little fireball head coach the NFL has seen in some time. On Sunday he was busy “owning” the Chargers’ linebackers before a 32-3 loss and yesterday was caught wishing his team a Happy Thanksgiving while mic’d up on the NFL Network. Nice editing job, by the way…

By the way, the Broncos, behind the return of Hall of Fame quarterback Kyle Orton, got back on track with a 26-6 win over the Giants in that motherf—— game. Elsewhere, the Cowboys beat the Raiders 24-7 and the Packers downed the Lions and a poised Matthew Stafford 34-12.

Quick hand-held pano shot from the top of Mt Soledad looking North East.

PLAN A: Art Fag Fest with No Age, Crocodiles, Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Ganglicans, Grass Widow, Pearl Harbor @ San Diego Woman’s Club (5 p.m.) I don’t care who doesn’t like it if I refer to this show as “Scenester Fest 2009.” I mean it with love, because there isn’t a bad band on this bill. Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles are still making news (see Locals Only section this week) and No Age continue to redefine noise-pop. But, again, it’s definitely worth showing up early for Best Coast (see Nathan Dinsdale’s feature from this week’s issue) and San Fran’s Grass Widow, who combine lo-fi surf-punk with early ‘60s girl-group R&B for what sounds like The Chiffons backed by Man or Astro-man?. PLAN B: Japandi, Snuffaluffagus, Bro Zen @ Che Café If there was such a thing as “poppy instrumental math-rock” then locals Japandi would have the genre thoroughly pigeonholed. They’re not playing tonight, but members of that band are in Miniature Tree so something tells me this is worth checking out. PLAN C: Gizzards, The Rib Cages, Mosquito Bandito @ Soda Bar Fans of Bob Log or Pant Hoots will wanna check out one-man psychobilly boy Mosquito Bandito while Portland’s The Rib Cages are as close as you’ll get to lo-fi hardcore these days. And you can’t really go wrong with the two-chord attack of local punks Gizzards. BACKUP PLAN: Josh Damigo, JT Spangler @ Lestats “Josh Damingo” (as I like to call him) won the San Diego Music Award for “Best Local Recording,” which prompted me to tweet that he “sucks balls.” He was such a good sport about it that I’m recommending his “overcooked-with-a-side-of-cheese” folk to you here. Enjoy.

OTHER COOL STUFF:

“F@#king in the Bushes” @ Whistle Stop–We’re hoping this inaugural Britpop night lasts, especially when the DJs are Rob Moran (of Some Girls fame) and Daniel Sant (the limey singer of Northern Towns, who are also playing earlier in the night). Oasis fans need not apply.

“Lilith” @ Conrad Prebys Music Hall–A new opera from UCSD professor and Guggenheim-award winner Anthony Davis based on Adam’s first wife. Actually sounds pretty cool (read more here).

The Blackout Party, Brawley, Bill Cardinal, Wire Pony  @ The Casbah–If you’re so inclined, you can check out the article I did a couple months back on Blackout Party frontman Brian Holwerda here. Also, you can download their entire new album on their MySpace page.

grampadrew, The Moons, Elysa Everson & Her Gentleman Bastards @ Tin Can Ale House

“Feel The Noise” with DJs Gabe Vega and Saul Q @ U-31

The Aggrolites, Stranger, The Earful, DJ King Cannon @ Belly Up

Normandie, DJ Bad Andy @ Bar Pink

The Chop Tops, The Strikers, Hard Fall Hearts, The Watchmen, Los Duggans @ Radio Room

эдитец с трюками 2008 года, которые никуда не вошли.
как я понимаю, она сама их смонтировала.



White V-neck Edit-2008 Clips from aarinG on Vimeo.

мини отчет о поездке в woodward с типом по имени Tyler.
видимо, это её бойфренд.



Tyler and Aarin go to Woodward West! from aarinG on Vimeo.

тестирует новые ролики.
HD mode is available.



Aarin’s New Skates + HD Test from aarinG on Vimeo.

эдит в поддержку скейтшопа SDSF в Сан-Диего.



SDSF SUPPORT EDIT! from aarinG on Vimeo.

Помимо катания, она еще увлекается фотографией. Вот ее фликр.

Day 1 of the engagement/pre-wedding shoot with my cousin and being brought around to these great locations in SD. I can tell i’m quickly falling in love with the place (: that and my 3ft octa.

Shot a whole bunch of shots today and already have some favorites and know which ones work and which ones don’t. Now to really start processing and cranking them out

Tmrw’s another long day ahead but i’m so looking forward to it. Love the weather here too (or maybe i’m just a bit more used to the chill of Buffalo)

Left 4265 Gresham at noon. Great times. I will always love that place. The birthplace of Dirty Gresham. The discovery of the OCG Softball Team and the steak poutine and cheese sub. If you have been following along then you know there has been so much more.

On the flight home I stopped in Vegas for 45 minutes, enough time to take 5$ and turn it into 50… then turn it back into 5, then zero. Took me 20 minutes, it was worth it.

4.5 hours later I touch down in Manchester with Dad waiting…. good times. I wrote this on the plane…..

In the last few months I have learned a lot about the way people are. More specifically, about the way I am. I’ve seen people say and do things I thought I never might.
I’ve done a few things I have never before. I’ve picked up some habits, made some friends, and seen some things.

The most important thing I learned is that while I will always love to travel and find new exciting experiences to keep life fresh, nothing can compare to the known. The known is home. Its New England. Its my best friends, my family, snowy miserable cold winters.
Its something collectively that I wouldn’t trade for any destination in the world.

Will I continue to seek new adventures and travel? Yes, of course.
But will I ever change the place that I call home? Unequivocally No.

Time to settle into the new diggs at Jody’s in Marblehead on Sunday… updates to follow!

Tämä pieni kaupunki valvoo asetuksia tarkasti ja hankkiutuu eroon Los Angelesia vaivaavasta dramatiikasta.

Muutaman kilometrin päässä Los Angelesin kaupungintalolta on ollut vuosien ajan käynnissä pienimuotoinen kokeilu kannabiksen säännöstelemisessä. Osavaltion suurimman kaupungin hyväksyessä virheellisen toimenpiteistä pidättäytymisen, kiistellessä sääntöehdotuksista loputtomiin ja seuratessa hämmentyneenä lääkekannabiskauppojen lisääntymistä, West Hollywood painoi eteenpäin.

Kohdatessaan omien kannabisputiikkiensa räjähdysmäisen kasvun vuonna 2005, tämä Los Angelesin ympäroimä kaupunki esitteli käytännön toimenpiteistä pidättäytymisestä, määräsi väliaikaiset säädökset jo toiminnassa oleville, asetti tiukan valvonnan ja määritteli sallittujen kannabisliikkeiden määrän neljään. Kaikki tämä tapahtui kahden vuoden aikana.

Kun West Hollywoodin kaupunginvaltuusto päivitti säädöksiään aiemmin tänä syksynä, äänestys oli yksimielinen. Yksikään asukas ei ilmoittanut olevansa eri mieltä ja kaupungin kannabiskauppojen pitäjät tukivat sitä. Sitä vastoin Los Angelesissa valtuuston komiteat valmistautuvat kuulemistilaisuuteen, joka tulee epäilemättä olemaan riehakkaan riitaisa yrittäessään viimeistellä nyt viidennen version säännöksistään.

West Hollywoodin kaupunginisät sanovat, että on kulunut yli kaksi vuotta siitä, kun asukas on viimeksi valittanut kannabisapteekista. Naapurustopartioiden johtajien mukaan heidän katunsa ovat nyt turvallisempia, koska apteekkien turvamiesten vaaditaan liikkuvan myös lähikortteleissa. Kouluviranomaiset toivottavat kannabisapteekit tervetulleiksi naapuriinsa. Ja kaupungissa partioiva Los Angelesin poliisiosasto sanoo, että kannabisliikkeissä ei ole tapahtunut viime aikoina rikoksia, eikä soittoja vihaisilta naapureilta ole kuulunut.

“Me olemme olleet tilanteen tasalla ensimmäisestä päivästä lähtien”, sanoi Lisa Belsanti, kaupungin vanhempi hallintoanalyytikko, joka oli mukana sääntöjen sorvaamisessa. “Ongelmia on, mutta ne ovat Los Angelesissa eikä West Hollywoodissa.”

Kaupungeissa, joissa ei ole lääkekannabisssäännöstöä, kuten Los Angelesissa, San Diegossa ja Long Beachilla, lääkekannabisapteekkien naapureina asuvat ovat protestoineet, koska liikkeitä on perustettu minne tahansa – usein aivan asuntojen läheisyyteen – ja koska ne ovat houkutelleet riesaksi asti liikennettä ja todellisia vaaroja, kuten ryöstöjä. Joissakin kaupungeissa, kuten San Franciscossa ja Oaklandissa, on tiukat säädökset lääkekannabisapteekeille, ja niiden viranomaisten mukaan ongelmia on ollut vähän tai ei lainkaan.

Vaikka West Hollywood on vain murto-osa Los Angelesista 1,9 neliömailin koollaan ja 36 000 asukkaallaan, se toimii esimerkkinä siitä, kuinka säännökset luomalla ja niitä valvomalla ongelmat on suureksi osaksi vältetty. “Olemme pitäneet liikkeet tiukassa hihnassa”, sanoi kaupunginvaltuutettu John Duran, joka on ollut mukana lääkekannabisasiassa vuosien ajan. “Tänä päivänä valituksia tulee aivan minimaalisesti ja liikkeet toimivat vastuullisesti.”

Edistyksellisellä politiikallaan ylpeilevä West Hollywood, jossa on myös paljon homoväestöä ja ikäihmisiä, toivotti lääkekannabiksen tervetulleeksi sanan levittyä, että siitä voi olla apua AIDS-potilaille ja glaukoomaa sairastaville. Sielläkin tosin koettiin naapurustojen vastaisku, kun kannabisapteekit alkoivat yleistyä vuosina 2004 ja 2005.

Kolme liikettä ilmestyi korttelin päähän Fountain Dayn koulusta. Yksi niistä, Farmacy, oli aivan nurkan takana. Sen asiakkaat pistivät palamaan yksityiskoulun kanssa jaetulla paikoitusalueella, mikä hermostutti vanhempia. “Yhtäkkiä niitä alkoi avautua, pam pam pam pam”, sanoi Andrew Rakos, koulun johtaja. “Vanhempainyhdistys tuli luokseni ja kertoi, etteivät he ole lainkaan iloisia asiasta. Paikalle alkoi virrata paljon epäilyttävää ainesta.”

Farmacya pyörittää vakavasti sairaita ihmisiä kannabiksella yli 15 vuoden ajan hoitanut farmaseutti JoAnna LaForce. Hän otti yhteyttä vanhempainyhdistykseen, tarjosi esittelykierroksia liikkeeseensä, palkkasi turvahenkilökuntaa ja kielsi polttamisen paikoitusalueella. Farmacy, kuten muutkin liikkeet, kuuluu kauppakamariin ja sen johtaja on mukana kunnanneuvostossa.

“Olemme vain osa yhteisöä, osa naapurustoa. Meitä ei nähdä riskinä”, sanoi Los Angelesin tilannetta tyrmistyneenä seurannut LaForce. Hän omistaa Farmacy-liikkeet myös Venicessä ja Westwoodissa, ja ne toimivat kaupunkien säädösten mukaisesti.

Rakos on nykyään eräs Farmacyn arvokkaimmista tukijoista. Koska liike on alle 150 metrin päässä koulusta, kaupunki halusi sen muuttavan vuoden loppuun mennessä. Rakos kuitenkin pyysi kaupunginvaltuustoa tekemään poikkeuksen, jonka se tekikin. “Meistä oli tärkeää, että kaupunki tietää olevan olemassa liikkeitä, jotka eivät ole pelkästään kunnioitettavia, vaan jotka ovat myös kuunnelleet yhteisön tarpeita”, hän sanoi.

Los Angelesissa kiisteltyä säädösluonnosta on palloteltu valtuuston ja kaupunginsyyttäjänviraston välillä. Naapurustoaktiivit ja liikkeiden omistajat on pitkälti jätetty ulkopuolelle, he ovat saaneet sanoa sanansa ainoastaan julkisissa kuulemistilaisuuksissa. West Hollywoodin virkamiehet toimivat kuitenkin läheisessä yhteistyössä asukkaiden, omistajien ja poliisin kanssa.

West Hollywoodin säädökset rajoittavat sijainteja, joihin kannabisapteekin voi avata, määrittelevät turvallisuusvaatimukset, määräävät aukioloajoista ja kieltävät paikan päällä tapahtuvan kannabiksen käytön. Ne menevät pidemmälle kuin Los Angelesin säädösehdotus varmistaakseen, että kannabiskaupat ovat vastuullisia naapureita.

Liikkeiden on toimitettava lähiseudun asukkaille yhteyshenkilön nimi ja puhelinnumero. Ryöstöjen estämiseksi liikkeiden on talletettava joka päivä kaikki käteinen raha. Aseistamattomien vartijoiden on partioitava kahden korttelin säteellä liikkeestä estääkseen maleksimisen ja polttelun. “Me emme halua villin lännen tyylisiä ammuskeluja kannabiksen tai käteisen vuoksi”, Duran sanoi.

Kaupunki myös velvoittaa liikkeiden pyörittäjien tapaavan säännöllisesti viranomaisten kanssa keskustellakseen ongelmista. Nuo tapaamiset ovat nykyään hyvin lyhyitä. “Me menemme sinne kymmeneksi minuutiksi”, LaForce sanoi, “ja he sanovat – seriffi on paikalla – onko ongelmia? Ei. Mitään huolenaiheita? Ei.”

Kaupungin viranomaiset hätääntyivät äskettäin, kun Los Angelesin piirikunnan syyttäjä Steve Cooley sanoi uskovansa useimpien kannabisapteekkien olevan laittomia ja uhkasi nostaa niitä vastaan syytteitä. Mutta seriffi Lee Baca, joka on neuvonut kaupunkeja kieltämään kannabisliikkeet, sanoi pitävänsä West Hollywoodia mallitapauksena ja ehdotti jopa Los Angelesia ottamaan käyttöön samanlaiset säädökset.

Baca sanoi poliisiensa toimivan yhteistyössä kaupungin kannabisliikkeiden kanssa. “Tiedän niiden olevan läpinäkyviä ja uskon avaimen olevan siinä, että meidän väkemme voi mennä niihin koska tahansa ja tutkia niiden asiakirjoja”, hän sanoi. “Meitä kiinnostavat organisaatiot, jotka yrittävät sekoittaa lääkemyyntiin liikekaupallista myyntiä. Se on selkeästi laitonta.” West Hollywoodissa on neljä hyväksyttyä kannabisapteekkia, jotka kaikki sijaitsevat vilkkaalla Santa Monica Boulevardilla.

Don Duncan, alueen näkyvin lääkekannabiksen puolestapuhuja ja Americans for safe access -järjestön Kalifornian osaston johtaja, pyörittää vaatimatonta Los Angeles patients & caregivers group -apteekkia. Turvamies on aina paikalla liikkeen kannabiksenvihreän näyteikkunan edustalla. “Emme ole saaneet valitusta kolmeen vuoteen”, Duncan sanoi.

Farmacy, toisin kuin suurin osa muista kannabisapteekeista, pitää ovensa aina avoinna, kutsuen ohikulkijoita sisään tutustumaan liikkeen surffauksen ja Buddhan inspiroimaan ilmapiiriin. Alternative Herbal Health Services -apteekki kadun toisella puolella on hillitympi, sen ikkunaa koristaa värikäs luomukauppaa muistuttava kyltti. Kaupungin länsilaidalla sijaitsee Zen Healing Collective, jonka ikkunassa on jättimäinen neonhampunlehti. Viides kannabisliike, jonka kaupungin viranomaiset haluavat sulkea, Sunset Super Shop, on vertauskuvallisesti juuri oikealla paikalla Hustler Hollywoodin (seksiä) ja Whisky a Go Gon (rock’n'rollia) välissä.

Eräs asia vaivaa kuitenkin yhä West Hollywoodin virkamiehiä: se että ihmiset käyttävät hyväksi osavaltion lääkekannabislakeja ja ostavat kannabista yksinkertaisesti päästäkseen pilveen tai myydäkseen sitä edelleen. “Siellä notkuu paljon ihmisiä, joita me pidämme epätoivottavina henkilöinä, mutta emme kylläkään saa heistä paljonkaan valituksia yhteisöltä”, sanoi seriffi Dave Smith.

Duran uskoo että aidosti sairaiden turvallinen lääkekannabiksen saanti ja myynnin kontrolloinnin mahdollistaminen kaupungin taholta ovat painavampia asioita kuin haittapuolet. “Me olemme Sunset Stripin alkukoti”, hän sanoi. “Ihmiset ovat käyttäneet kannabista Sunsetillä 1920-luvulta asti. Se ei tule muuttumaan.”

Lähde:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-weho-marijuana16-2009nov16,0,7678248,full.story

The graveyard in Old Towne, San Diego is pretty old. It is in the “birthplace” of California. It’s got white wood grave markers, like white picket fence. It runs under the street too, so you are really just driving over indian graves and disrespecting the dead.

*** All images taken by Melody Hall and are copyright.

Here are the top 10 must haves at any bachelor party. They are in no particular order and Im sure there are more things to have at these kind of parties but here are the ones that really matter.

#1 Drinks

#2 Cigars

#3 Gag Gifts

#4 Strippers

#5 Good Friends

#6 No Girls

#7 Food

#8 Money

#9 A Camera

#10 Music or DJ

All that doesn’t sound so bad, pretty simple. In a hectic frenzy to plan these things, sometimes you might forget about something so simple as good music, so check the list twice and have the time of your life!

Strippers before the party

It is the night before Thanksgiving and I must say, as 2009 starts to wind down I have a lot to be thankful for! I feel so lucky to have discovered a romance writing community online that is just so full of wit and wisdom! And ladies, I must say you all share your experience and thoughts so generously it is very humbling for a relative newbie like myself. I am thankful for the opportunity to take over as President of the Board for my local chapter of JDRF. Giving back is important, but being able to do something that could impact my family’s lives is amazing. I am thankful for our new kitty…Flash is a handful, but he has livened things up around our house. I am thankful for my new job I started this year. It has been a great transition to another company and I really enjoy my client. I am thankful for all of my friends and family who continue to bring me joy and love. And, last but not least, I am thankful for 9 years of marriage to my husband. He is the hardest working man I know, and without him I wouldn’t have the time to write and explore my dreams.

Updated 6:12 PM PST, Wed, Nov 25, 2009 from NBC San Diego

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Patient-Pistol-Whipped-During-Marijuana-Robbery-73845607.html

A woman buying medical marijuana got between some gunman and their target Wednesday morning.

Four masked men — at least two of whom were armed — followed some patients inside the Best Meds non-profit medical marijuana collective in the 6150 block of University Avenue in the Rolando neighborhood at about 10 on Wednesday, according to police. There was a scuffle during the robbery, and a woman was pistol-whipped in the back of the head, authorities said.

The four men fled in a Chevy Equinox, but soon some Best Meds employees gave chase in a pickup, investigators said. A short time later, the pickup caught up to the Chevy and cut it off, forcing the car to slam into the pickup’s bed.

Both front air bags deployed in the Chevy, effectively trapping the men in the front seats. The two other men fled on foot, but one of them was quickly captured by police. The other suspect is still at large, police, said.

//

Patient Pistol-Whipped During Marijuana Robbery

WATCH

Patient Pistol-Whipped During Marijuana Robbery

Police recovered one weapon during their investigation, and the pickup’s driver recovered a black duffel bag with jars of marijuana inside, and the marijuana was returned to the collective.

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See, this is the type of thing that has been brought about by marijuana prohibition. The black market involved people who are not afraid to do illegal things for profit do not worry about what will happen after theyre in the moment, so they dont plan things out right and end up getting chased down and airbagged in the face, and therefore arrested. They got what they deserved. Also goes to show that people in this industry are NOT to be fucked with, they have an instinct to take care of themselves without the help of the cops (if theyve dealt in the industry illegally) and so theyre prepared to take matters into their own hands. Luckily here in california the law protects them so they were, in fact able to call the cops and have them help. Undoubtedly one of the greatest benefits of marijuana legalization/medical is the protection that these citizens receive that they did not before, for fear of being persecuted for using their medicine. People may say that this violence and robbing is something that is brought about by medical marijuana stores but it is not, marijuana has been used for thousands of years and cultivated in peace. When the laws made it illegal, and threw it into the black market, it has its detrimental effects on everyone involved, like a possible robbery. This has carried over from the Al C style black market robberies but is in no way something that should be associated with marijuana. Hopefully one day these non-profit cooperatives will be able to function in peace, or at least as much peace as a pharmacy or liquor store would experience.
- Axel Foliage

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